NEWS
FIVE PROMINENT GAMBIANS DECLINED TO ACCEPT JAMMEH'S MINISTERIAL POST
OFFER, AS INFORMATION MINISTRY PORTFOLIO REMAINS VACANT
By Akaleke, our Banjul Correspondent



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October 23, 2005
Highly placed and dependable State House sources in Banjul say, efforts to
recruit a new Information Minister failed, as five prominent Gambians
approached by President Yahya Jammeh refused to accept Ministerial
appointments offered to them by Gambian President Yahya Jammeh, The
ALLGAMBIAN online Newspaper can reveal. Most of those approached were said
to have turned down Jammeh's offer, as they cited lack of job security and
harassment meted out to Jammeh's Ministers, our source hinted.

It would be recalled that the said Ministerial portfolio has been vacant
since August 2005. Exercising powers conferred on him by the country's
1997 Second Republic constitution President Jammeh, fired the then
Information Minister Dr. Amadou Scattered Janneh. In a press release, the
government accuses Dr. Janneh of espionage, by leaking what the government
called classified cabinet and other government information to an unnamed
foreign embassy in The Gambia.

Dr. Janneh's case was recently dropped by the sacked Justice Minister
Raymond Sock, who told state investigators that the evidence presented to
the prosecution were weak and could not be used in any law court to
convict the sacked Minister. Angered by Mr. Sock legal opinion on this
high profile espionage case, in protest Jammeh decided to sack the Justice
Minister Sock, sources said.

Replacing Dr. Janneh has been a problem for Jammeh, as our sources hinted
that people are now beginning to distance themselves from his government.
"Sources close to the State House have it that the President Yaya Jammeh
has made fruitless effort to appoint a replacement for Dr. Janneh, but to
no avail as he had approached five (5) individuals including a former SOS
whom he appointed in that office before who all turned down his offer,
fearing loosing their current jobs, as Jammeh cannot maintain a Minister,"
our sources added.

According to one political analyst who spoke to The ALLGAMBIAN
correspondent in Banjul, the mere fact that President Jammeh could not get
a replacement for Dr. Janneh, goes to show that his government is on its
last days. The political analyst says Gambians are becoming matured
politically especially the elites or so called intellectuals some of whom
have been used and abused by President Jammeh. "The inability on the side
of the Jammeh administration to appoint a replacement for Dr Janneh can
have a big impact on the run up to the 2006 presidential elections. This
goes to show that The Gambian masses have no confident in the Jammeh
administration" said the political analyst.

The Deputy "Jaliba" of the Jammeh administration, in the person of current
SOS for Trade Industry & Employment Nenneh Macdoll Gaye is over seeing the
position since the termination of Dr Janneh. The question that many
Gambian have in their minds now is: How can Macdoll Gaye run these two
busy offices at the same time?

Meanwhile ALLGAMBIAN has been reliably informed that some sacked
government Ministers who had fallen out with President Jammeh's government
had pledged their loyalty and support for Gambia's newest opposition
coalition called NADD. According to our sources the sacked Ministers are
pissed off with the current dictatorship and have vowed to support NADD
come what may to effect a change in The Gambia come the 2006 polls.



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